Home / Keyword Perishables 184
- Agave Knife
Description: Hafted agave knife with an agave stalk handle. The stone knife blade was flaked along the edges and then pushed through the agave stalk while the stalk was still green (there are stretch cracks around the pointed end of the stone). This tool was well-used and exhibits extreme use-polish on the stone knife. Dimensions: Stalk-40.2 cm long, 4.5 cm diameter; Blade-14 x 9 cm. Collection: On display at the Tuzigoot National Monument Visitor Center (catalog card). - Split-twig Figurines
Description: Split-twig figurines in a range of sizes. Dimensions: Unknown. Collection: Grand Canyon National Park. - Matting and Basket Fragments
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan, Atsinna Pueblo (A.D. 1275 – mid-1300s) Description: This mount contains the remains of three different perishable artifacts. The upper left is a rim fragment of a wicker basket. Laurie Webster, of the University of Arizona, describes this basket as having a 1/1 interlaced weave structure with a multiple-element warp, and a rim selvage with 360 degree wrapping around a group of perhaps four twigs. Each warp twig is 1.5 - 1.8 mm in diameter, and the warp channel is approximately 2.0 cm wide. The weft consists of a single twig, 1.0 mm in diameter. There are eight rows of weft per cm. The second artifact (bottom left) consists of the partial base of a wickerwork basket identified by Laurie Webster as having a 1/1 interlacing weave structure with a multiple-element warp. Of the six warp channels in the outermost row of the basket, three contain two twigs and four contain three twigs. The average width of the warp channels is 2.0 cm. The diameter of each warp twig is approximately 2.0 mm, and each weft twig is between 1.5 and 2.0 mm. The basket has seven weft rows per cm. Archaeobotanist Karen Adams identified the raw material as possibly oak (Quercus sp.). A brown substance with off-white specks adhering to the upper surface of the basket may be food residue. The fragments on the right are part of a large, deteriorated, consolidated mat-like object. Laurie Webster identified the weave structure as 1/1 plaiting, and Karen Adams identified the raw material as five-to-ten year old split oak (Quercus sp.) stems. The warp elements are 4.0-6.0 mm in diameter and spaced about 2.0 cm apart, and the weft elements are about 6.0 mm wide and spaced about 2.0 cm apart. Dimensions: 4.5 cm-long by 5.5 cm-wide (upper left); 7.3 cm by 11.0 cm (bottom left); 9.0 cm long and 21.0 cm wide (largest fragment on the right). Provenience: LA 99 (Atsinna Pueblo), RM 17, Fill. Collection: National Park Service, El Morro. - Axe Handle
Description: Prehistoric axe handle, encrusted with salt; a bit of yucca fiber tie still clings to the end. Dimensions: 7.1 cm from end, stick thinned for 17.4 cm by removal of wood from one side (55.8 x 2.6 cm). Collection: On display at the Tuzigoot National Monument Visitor Center (catalog card). - Matting Fragment
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan, Atsinna Pueblo (A.D. 1275 – mid-1300s) Description: Laurie Webster, of the University of Arizona, identified this artifact as a coarse plaited wicker mat-like object. The warp elements are 5.0-6.0 mm in diameter and 1.5-2.0 cm apart, and the weft elements are 5.0-6.0 mm wide and 5.0-6.0 mm apart. Archaeobotanist Karen Adams identified the raw material as five-to-ten year old split oak (Quercus sp.) stems. Dimensions: 16.0 cm long and 16.5 cm wide. Provenience: LA 99 (Atsinna Pueblo), RM 17, Fill. Collection: National Park Service, El Morro. - Coiled Basket Fragments
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan, Atsinna Pueblo (A.D. 1275 – mid-1300s) Description: Fragments of a close-coiled basketry bowl identified by Laurie Webster, of the University of Arizona, as having a two-rod and bundle foundation and non-interlocking stitches. The rods are 2.0 mm in diameter, and the stitches average 1.5 mm in width. The weave density is two to three rows and five to six stitches per cm. Archaeobotanist Karen Adams identified the rods and stitches as sumac (Rhus sp., probably , aromatic, and the bundle (technically a welt in this basket) appears to be a twisted yucca leaf. Dimensions: 6.5 long x 21.0 wide cm, 4.0 wide x 16.0 long cm, 3.8 wide x 16.8 long cm, and 2.5 long x 13.0 wide cm. Provenience: LA 99 (Atsinna Pueblo), RM 17, Fill. Collection: National Park Service, El Morro. - Split-twig Figurine
View 3D Model Description: Split-twig figurine. Dimensions: Unknown. Collection: Grand Canyon National Park (Catalog No. GRCA 29978). - Cotton Skirt
Description: A knotted cotton skirt that would have been worn by a Sinagua woman. Dimensions: Approximately 15 x 20 cm. Collection: On display at the Montezuma Castle National Monument Visitor Center (Catalog No. MOCA 46). - Yucca Rope
Description: Rope made from three yucca cord strands (z-spun and s-twist). There is a slip knot in the other end of the rope. Dimensions: L 91.5 cm. Collection: On display at the Tuzigoot National Monument Visitor Center (catalog card). - Yucca Cordage
Cultural Period: Unknown Description: Two-strand yucca cordage found in the vicinity of Wupatki National Monument. Dimensions: 29.0 (L) x 0.3 (diameter) cm. Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Axe Handle
Description: A well-used wooden axe handle. The haft, mended with yucca cord, would have wrapped around a stone axe. Dimensions: Approximately 26.75 cm long. Collection: On display at the Montezuma Castle National Monument Visitor Center (Catalog No. MOCA 444). - Yucca Needle
Description: Yucca needle. Dimensions: Approximately 3.75 cm (needle), 5 cm (string); total length approximately 8.75 cm. Collection: On display at the Montezuma Castle National Monument Visitor Center (Catalog No. MOCA 52?). - Reed Cigarettes
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan (Wupatki Pueblo, A.D. 1130 – A.D. 1260) Description: Cane or reed cigarettes from the trash of Wupatki Pueblo. Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog card). - Possible Cradle Board Fragment
Cultural Period: Ancestral Puebloan, Atsinna Pueblo (A.D. 1275 – mid-1300s) Description: Wood fragment identified in the artifact catalog as a possible cradleboard fragment. Epoxy resin was used as a preservative on the wood. Dimensions: L 45.5, W 17.5, T 1.5 CM Provenience: LA 99 (Atsinna Pueblo), Room 18, Floor. Collection: National Park Service, El Morro. - Split Feather Detail
Description: Close view of the sinew wrapped split feathers on MOCA 457, an arrow mainshaft. Collection: On display at the Montezuma Castle National Monument Visitor Center (Catalog No. MOCA 457).